My allies enemies are now my friends?
by PARTNERS-OF-CRIME
Summary: Tsureru Kichigai was an official for Orochimaru, when she discovered that her parents were Konoha ninja. Forced to return to Konoha, will they accept one of the leading generals that tried to annihilate them? [T for language] [probable eventual KakashiOC]
1. Retrieving the Package

It had started out as just another day in the life of Naruto Uzumaki. He woke up, blearily made the first package of ramen that he could get his hands on, and almost fell asleep in the now steaming cup of chicken flavored ramen. Suddenly, Kakashi-sensei popped into his window.

"Naruto!"

"Ah!" Naruto yelled, as he fell backwards from the table, spilling hot ramen all over himself. "Ouch! Hot hot hot hot hot hot!!" Rolling his eyes, Kakashi grabbed a bottle of water that was lying around and soaked Naruto even more. "What was that for?" Naruto asked, obviously peeved off.

"The water helped cool you down," Kakashi said flatly. "Be at the Hokage's office in half an hour. We have an important topic to discuss." And with that Kakashi jumped out the window to inform Sakura. She, thankfully, didn't spill hot ramen all over herself, so Kakashi was in and out of there in less than a minute. As he headed towards the Hokage's office, he couldn't help but look in the direction of the Uchiha complex. Sasuke had been gone over two years now and Kakashi couldn't help but wonder what his former student was doing.

Kakashi looked back to where he was going, and realized that he was already at the Hokage's building. Stepping inside, his feet automatically led him to Tsunade's office as he plunged back into his favorite novel, _Make-__out __Tactics_. He leaned against the wall outside her office as he waited for his students to arrive. He had gotten five chapters ahead, and was deeply involved in the new plot twist with the main character's husband who turned out to be having an affair with her sister, when Naruto and Sakura arrived, arguing as usual. He rolled his eyes, put his book back into his pocket, and led them inside.

"Excellent, you're here," Tsunade said. "For once you aren't late, Kakashi," she added with a wry grin. "Well, anyways, to get down to business, you are to go on a retrieval mission. You are to go to a village near the Hidden Village of Sound, in the north. A woman there will give you the rest of the information."

"How will we know who she is, old lady Tsunade?" Naruto questioned.

"She will make herself known to you," Tsunade replied. A vein in her temple throbbed. Less than a month back and he's already back into the habit of calling me that, Tsunade thought. "You are to leave at noon. Take this time to get ready, or whatever you people do. I have paperwork to avoid, so shoo." Team Kakashi promptly about faced and walked out the door.

As soon as they were outside, Naruto practically exploded. "What are we retrieving anyways? She never told us!" He had nearly exploded in Tsunade's office, but he could tell she was pissed off and didn't want to risk not being able to go on the mission.

"I suppose it is rather strange that she didn't tell us. She gave you more information though, right, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said.

"Yes, she did. But to be honest, it isn't much. It's mainly just the directions to the village, and a general description of the person we will be meeting. The village is a day away, so we don't need much," Kakashi stated. "It's nearly noon, so let's head on over to the main gate." Naruto and Sakura nodded, and followed behind him. It was an uneventful trip to the village, and they arrived there in the early afternoon of the next day.

"Ach, I'm starving!" Naruto said. "Let's go grab a bite to eat." He took a quick glance along the street they were on and headed straight for the barbeque restaurant. "Ah, I haven't had good barbeque in ages, c'mon!" He grabbed Sakura by the arm and dragged her along before she could react. Kakashi drifted behind them. They were quickly seated and soon they were tucking into a delicious meal of kalbi.

"Um… excuse me," a timid voice came from beside the table. The three of them looked up to see a pretty woman in who seemed to be in her mid to late thirties. "I hate to be a bother, but are you ninjas from Konoha?"

"That we are," Kakashi said, the same moment Naruto said, "You betcha!" Sakura merely nodded.

The woman smiled. "Well, in that case," she said, "Please come to my house when you are done eating. My name is Jansei Ukimasu. I am the one who will be giving you the rest of your instructions for the mission." She gave them directions to her house and left.

"Awesome! I can't wait to find out what we're going to be doing," Naruto said, excitedly. He began shoveling rice and kalbi into his mouth as quickly as he could, and began urging the others to eat faster as well. "C'mon you guys! The faster you finish eating, the faster we can- Blarrrff!" Naruto barfed all over the floor behind him.

"Gosh, Naruto!" Sakura yelled, "If you're going to eat, don't barf it up right when you finish!" Further argument proceeded once Naruto had recovered, and they soon were on their way to the woman's house.

Upon their arrival, she warmly welcomed them into her home and formal introductions were made. "Please, make yourselves at home. Can I get you a drink?" She politely asked. After getting all of them a glass of water, she sat down and said, "I'm sure you want to know why you are here." She sighed heavily and called out, "Tsuru-chan! Come here please!" An annoyed "coming!" sounded from a few rooms away and they could hear the padding of feet on the wood floor approaching.

The door slid open to reveal a young girl, about fifteen or sixteen, with dark hair just passing her shoulders. She was dressed in a gray shirt that was just baggy enough to only hint at her figure, and comfortable knee length shorts. Her face was set in a scowl; she was obviously not pleased to see the Konoha ninja here. "What do you want," she said flatly.

Jansei Ukimasu, who gave a slight hum of disapproval as the girl sat down, said, "This is my niece, Tsureru Kichigai. Tsuru, this is Kakashi, Sakura and Kakashi. You have been sent to 'retrieve' her, or more like escort, and take her back to Konoha. Her parents were originally from Konoha, but were sent out on a long term mission to spy on neighboring Hidden Villages. It was a top secret intelligence mission, but they were well suited for the job. They had been the top ninja in infiltration, secrecy, and intelligence gathering. They had been given this mission before Ainako, Tsuru's mother, became pregnant. This was about seventeen years ago. They infiltrated the Land of Bears and Hoshigakure, the Village Hidden among the Stars. You have all heard of the meteor that was there?"

"I had a mission there a few years ago. I was involved with its destruction." Naruto stated.

"Ah, so you all know of it then." Jansei said. She continued. "Well, Tsuru was born there. So when Akahoshi took over, people were forced to do the training for the Peacock method. Tsuru's parents were strong, and were of the few that survived the training. They gave birth to Tsuru while there. She didn't know about the infiltration, and because of various reasons, Tsuru's chakra control is incredible. I think it was because her parents had been doing the training when Tsuru was, ah, conceived, and during the early stages of Ainako's pregnancy. Also, Tsuru received a small amount of 'training' in the ways of the Peacock method. But-"

"My parents died. When I was five." Tsuru cut in. Kakashi was slightly taken aback by the coldness of the girl's voice. "The side effects of the training did them in. So I left the village as soon as I officially became a genin at age eight. I pretended to fall into the poison gas valley so they would have thought I died. I didn't need people looking for Hakuchou Oushi." At Naruto's confused expression she said, "That was my name." She continued with the story and said, "I ran and ran, and didn't particularly care what direction I was going in. I eventually wound up in the Land of Rice Fields, but Orochimaru had already taken control, so I guess that makes it the Land of Sound. He was impressed with my chakra control abilities; I could walk on air, slice through things, and was a fairly good healer."

To demonstrate, Tsuru flicked a finger in Naruto's direction and suddenly small scratch appeared on his cheek. "Ah! How'd you do that?" he asked nervously.

Quickly getting back to the explanation at hand, Tsuru said, "Orochimaru saw me: angry, lost, alone, and talented. He employed me in his village and when I wasn't on missions, I was training. That was when I changed my name to Tsureru Kichigai. The majority of my training was with nin-and gen- jutsu, but I did some tai-jutsu to have all the bases covered. I became a Chunin officially a few years ago, but I had been at Chunin level for several years. I know what you're thinking and yes, I was part of the force that attacked Konoha. I was obeying orders. Anyways, on a mission about a year ago, I had to head down to Konoha to see what they were doing. So when I passed this village on my way down there, my aunt, whose existence I never knew of before I met her, caught me off guard and stuck a kunai in me. When I turned around to retaliate, she knocked me right upside the head and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up I was in here, and to make what could become an even longer story short, I'm going back to Konoha. Not by choice to be honest," she added with a scowl.

Naruto and Sakura stared on in awe and confusion, and Kakashi nodded sagely. "I remember hearing the news that your parents had died. Because they had already passed on, it was no longer deemed necessary for their existence to be confidential."

"Yeah, well, don't go wasting your pity on me. I don't like being pitied." Tsureru snapped. "Why do I have to go back with these guys anyways? I wasn't born a Konoha ninja; I see no reason to become one."

Jansei glared at her niece and said through gritted teeth, "You _were_ born as a Konoha ninja. You just never knew it. Your parents didn't tell you about the infiltration because, first of all, you were too young to understand, and it could've jeopardized the whole mission! So you _will_ go to Konoha, you _will_ cooperate with Team Kakashi, and you _will not_ assassinate anyone there!" Her last command had been particularly forceful and Sakura and Naruto gave each other slightly nervous looks.

Tsuru glared back at her aunt for a while, but gave in with a grudging huff and muttered, "Fine." Turning on Team Kakashi she yelled, "Well, are you going to take me or not?" She was obviously not pleased with the aspect of going back to Konoha, but whether it was because of her attachments to Orochimaru, or simply the fact that she had not known her identity for at least fourteen years, Kakashi and company had no idea.

Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi exchanged glances, and Naruto said, "Actually, we were thinking to just head out in the morning, so we can travel by daylight. Do you think we could stay at your house?"

Tsuru yelled out "NO DAMN WAY!" the same instant her aunt said, "Sure, no problem." Bewildered, Tsuru turned on Jansei, "What the hell, Jansei-san? You're letting these total strangers stay at our house? How do you know they won't do something immoral or perverted?"

As Tsuru seethed beside her, Jansei calmly stated, "Having them stay here is merely an act of hospitality and generosity. An aspect of humanity you still lack after all those years with the damn snake bastard. It will be a good chance to get to know each other, seeing as how you will probably be on the same team after this."

"What?!" Tsuru and Naruto yelled at the same time.

"I have to be-

"We have to be-

"- set up with these-"

"- on a team with-"

"- Leaf wimps?!"

"- this psycho?!"

Both Naruto and Tsuru had gotten to their feet and were pointing to the other. When they realized they had basically said the same thing at the same time, they glared at each other. Sakura sighed and muttered, "What a lovely start," before getting to her feet and saying, "Thank you for your generosity Jansei-san. We apologize for being a burden." With that, her humble act was discarded and she roughly grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him backward into the yard. Loud screaming and bangs could be heard for the next several minutes and when Sakura and Naruto rejoined the group, Naruto had mysteriously gotten a black eye, a broken nose, and several cuts and bruises. Tsuru had angrily stomped back to her room while Sakura and Naruto were outside, and rejoined the group only for dinner that evening.

Jansei had cooked a large pot of Kimchi soup with tofu and beef. "I'm sorry dinner is so basic, but Tsuru and I live a basic life out here," she said apologetically. "And you've been such a help with the cooking."

"No problem," Sakura said as she chopped up some spring onion to add to the soup. "It's the least we could do in return for letting us spend the night." Kakashi nodded from behind his book and Naruto muttered agreement. They all sat around the table and little conversation passed due to Tsuru's murderous mood. After dinner, the kitchen was cleaned up and Jansei showed their guests to the spare bedrooms where they would be staying.

* * *

It was late at night and Kakashi was still awake. He couldn't help but feel that there was something Tsuru wasn't telling them. He began pacing the room he was sharing with Naruto, who was sleeping deeply, and soon began to feel the need for open spaces. He exited through the window and jumped to the roof only to see Tsuru gazing up at the stars with her back to him. He considered either leaving as if he were never here, or catching her off guard, but his plans were foiled when she said, "I know you're there. You're the one with the mask."

"You heard me land on the roof." It was a statement, not a question. But Tsuru answered anyways, "That, and I sensed your chakra. I can match chakra to faces after one or two meetings." It was a statement of fact, not bragging.

"You're quite skilled with chakra aren't you?" Kakashi said, sitting next to her, but still not looking directly at her. If she had indeed learned the Peacock method, she would be a valuable asset to the team. "How is it that you haven't died from the Peacock method?" he asked.

"I only took very little training in it. I was born with superhuman control. For whatever reason it was, my mother was in the star temple when I was born. The radiation from it affected me and I had a huge amount of chakra and pinpoint control over it." She demonstrated by walking off the roof and seemingly hovering in midair. "I refused to learn the Peacock thing, but was forced to take one week of training in it before I could become a Genin. After that, I did my own fiddling around and experimenting. Walking on air for me is much like walking on water. And I don't need to do a jutsu to gain control. I always have it. That's why I didn't want to do the Peacock training; I didn't need it."

Kakashi looked at Tsuru as she walked back onto the roof and sat in her spot again. "You seemed to be extremely reluctant to return to Konoha. I suppose Orochimaru has really driven his hatred into you. You were part of the attack force on Konoha. You killed our ninja didn't you?" Kakashi's voice was neither scolding nor angry when he said this. It was like he was talking about the nighttime sky.

"Yes, but I didn't reach my quota." When Kakashi asked what she meant she replied, "Orochimaru told us that we were to kill a certain of ninja each. I had eliminated six of yours and was going to head to the exam arena to make sure everyone there was gone. While I was there, some crazy guy with a bowl haircut and wearing a green spandex jumpsuit knocked me out. Luckily, Kabuto revived me and we escaped after Orochimaru's battle with the Third was over."

"Your quota was ten?" Kakashi asked. Most quotas were round numbers and multiples of five. Tsuru nodded, confirming his guess. A small smile hid under his mask when he recognized the description of Guy. "You speak of killing and murder so apathetically. You were an assassinator for Orochimaru, weren't you?" Tsuru nodded again.

"I had never had any particularly close attachments to anyone. My parents died when I was young, so I was cared for by a neighbor, but I never loved them. I had matured emotionally very quickly. Orochimaru was just a superior ninja so I have some sort of respect for him. I guess I care for my aunt though."

Kakashi hummed in acknowledgement. He didn't say anything, but he could feel the waves of inner turmoil coming off of her as clearly as the breeze flowing around them. She had been taught for years by Orochimaru hate and destroy Konoha, only to find out a year ago that she is from there. Now she has to go back, and face the people she had tried to conquer. As he pondered all this, he was surprised to hear quiet sobs coming from Tsuru. She had seemed calloused and cold when they first met, but now, all alone besides for Kakashi, she let down her guard and let the tears flow.

"They'll hate me," she said inbetween sobs. "I worked for Orochimaru and tried to kill them and take over with him. They'll all hate me." Tsureru's sobs became more dramatic, and Kakashi placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. He was about to say something, but was cut off when Tsureru flung herself onto him and cried into his chest. Completely taken aback by this dramatic behavior, he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and she soon cried herself to sleep. Even in sleep, she still fought with pain and agony, and moaned and writhed with pain as she lay in his grasp. Despite her request, more like demand, earlier today against pitying her, Kakashi felt profoundly sorry for the girl sleeping in his arms.

He picked her up bridal style and nimbly leaped down to the ground. As he turned to re-enter the home, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful Tsureru's face was, streaked with tears as it was, when it was in the moonlight. Instead of the perpetual scowl she had worn during the day, her face was free of anger and frustration. Her ebony hair shone in the light of the full moon and her full lips were slightly parted. She shifted slightly in his arms as he crossed over the threshold and a small smile made her face even more lovely. Kakashi realized where his thoughts were leading and shook himself mentally. She was a probably future team member and about ten years his junior. He couldn't afford to be thinking those kinds of thoughts.

He reached Tsureru's room and gently placed her on the bed and covered her up. He was about to leave and go back to his room when he suddenly turned back. He picked up a soft washcloth from her adjoining bathroom and gently wiped her face free of tears. With that, he swiftly and silently returned to his room, but sleep was still hours away.

* * *

AN: yay! i started a new fanfic! I love Kakashi, so I made this in honor of him and since I have too much spare time /grin/ read and review and what not... 


	2. Arrival at Konoha

Sunlight crept through Tsureru's window and her eyelids fluttered slightly. Still in the deepest stage of sleep, she awoke slowly and groggily. She cracked open her eyes, but shut them immediately with a wince. Her eyes were still too sensitive to the sunlight after several hours of darkness. She rolled over with a groan and stuffed her head into her pillow. "Damn sun," she muttered. Suddenly, she realized that she didn't remember going to bed last night. "What the heck _did_ I do last night anyways?" she said aloud to herself. Slowly she got up and washed up, wondering the whole time how she wound up in bed when the last thing she could remember was sitting on the roof with-

"SHIT!" Tsuru had completely forgotten about the Leaf ninjas that had come to take her with them. Forgetting completely about her mysterious apparition into her bed, she ran around her room screaming, "I don't want to go, damn it, I don't want to freaking go!" As childish as she knew it was, Tsuru continued yelling this mantra at the top of her lungs until she ran outside and began beating the life out of a nearby tree. Her activity woke everyone else inside and they came outside, wondering what was going on.

"Tsuru-chan, what's wrong?" Jansei asked. Tsuru ignored her and beat the tree with such ferocity that it shattered into a thousand splinters. "Tsuru, stop throwing a tantrum and tell me what the hell is bothering you!" Jansei yelled, as she went to intercept Tsuru's next blow.

Unfortunately, by this time, Tsuru was in a blind fury. "Damn you woman, I told you I don't want to go to that damn Konoha!" Lacking any weapons, Tsuru began to attack her aunt, who just barely managed to avoid getting pummeled. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi stood on the threshold watching stunned as Tsuru dealt out blows to her aunt in lightning quick succession, and her aunt blocked them just as quickly.

"I thought she said she only did _some_ tai-jutsu?" Sakura said, in awe of Tsureru's speed.

"If this is some, then I hate to see what would happen if she started using some nin-jutsus. We'd probably all be blown into smithereens!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi remained silent. He was trying to find an opening to throw a shuriken at Tsuru in order to stop her, but he couldn't without risking hitting Jansei. Grunting in frustration, Kakashi jumped into the fight and came between Tsuru and Jansei. He turned the tables on her and began on the offense. Tsuru had blocked the first few shots, but in her fury and rage, she was not watching behind her, and a shadow clone that Kakashi had made before jumping in pinched Tsuru in a spot on her neck and she immediately slumped over, unconscious. The clone disappeared, and Kakashi casually slung Tsuru over his shoulder as if she were a bag of rice.

Relieved, Jansei followed him inside, and Sakura and Naruto closed the door behind them. Kakashi laid Tsuru at the kitchen table, and Jansei fetched some smelling salts to revive Tsuru. Consciousness soon returned and Jansei had some very stern words to give her niece.

"What the hell is wrong with you Kichigai-chan?" Tsuru winced; when Jansei called her by her last name, it never was a good omen. "Dawn only just broke a couple of hours ago, and you're already out here yelling at the top of your lungs and beating the life out of my favorite oak trees! What on earth are you so freaking pissed off about? If it's about going to Konoha, then deal with it, because I'm not letting you weasel out of this! I don't care if I have to knock you unconscious myself and carry you there in a sack, but you are going to Konoha!"

Tsuru glared daggers at her aunt, but their staring contest was evenly matched. The ability to stare down any individual was a talent that ran in their family. Growling, Tsuru looked away after realizing this. "Damn Leaf. How the hell am I going to accomplish anything there? They're all a bunch of soft do-gooders."

"And you're a bitch," Sakura interjected. "I don't care if you can spear me with your chakra from fifty yards. I'm telling you right here and now, you're the biggest bitch I've ever met, and that's saying something. Orochimaru must be really proud of you, Kichigai-san. That damn snake bastard's attitude really shines through in you!" Sakura snorted with disgust. "I agree with your aunt, and I think we 'soft do-gooders' can teach you a lesson you never learned, but sure as hell need to."

Naruto and Kakashi nodded in agreement and Tsuru clenched her fist in frustration. It was four against one. Normally, she wouldn't daunted by odds like this, but she knew her aunt had the equivalent power of a Jounin, and Kakashi was an official Jounin, and the other two were expected to be equal in power to her. They would probably come in on her from all four sides if she chose to attack, and possibly use clones as well. "Whatever," Tsuru finally said, "I'll go with you guys. This town has been getting boring anyways. Not enough action."

Jansei was about to send a retort at her rebellious niece, but she shut her mouth before she could say anything. With Tsuru in a murderous mood as this, the whole house would be burned down before the day was out.

Tsuru stomped out of the kitchen and went to change into her travelling gear. She slipped into a form-fitting black shirt and donned her Chuunin vest. Unlike those of the Leaf village, Tsuru's vest was a dark gray and the back used to have a single music note embroidered in silver, but Jansei had taken it out several months ago. After pulling on some comfortable shorts and boots, she clipped on her weapons pouch, double-checked to make sure she had packed all of her belongings into her pack, and slumped back to the kitchen.

"Ready to go?" Naruto asked unnecessarily. Tsuru nodded and glared at the floor. They waited on the porch for Sakura to finish whatever she was doing, and Naruto attempted to start polite conversation. "So… you worked for Orochimaru, huh?"

"Yeah, what of it? Are you going to chastise me about how I'm so evil and have no humanity, etcetera because I worked for him?" Tsuru retorted, still staring at the ground.

"No, but I was wondering if you knew anything about Sasuke. He was captured; well not really, he went willingly to Orochimaru to gain more power or something like that. He wanted to kill his brother. Do you know anything about him?" Naruto questioned anxiously.

"Oh, the Uchiha," Tsuru snorted. For the first time all morning, she cracked a smile, although it was a cruel one. "He was one hell of a stuck up asshole. The only thing he's living for is to kill his brother, but he doesn't realize that if he does, he'll have nothing left to life for." Leaning back and looking at the sky, Tsuru gently added, "What a stupid moron."

"Yes, I know he's stuck up, I know he's only out for revenge, but is he doing ok? Orochimaru hasn't switched into his body or anything yet has he?"

"Nah, not that I know of," Tsuru replied. "He wants to wait until the Uchiha has reached his prime, in health, in skill, in whatever. The Uchiha and I crossed paths a few times and had to collaborate in a few missions. I can see that he's strong and has got talent, but Itachi could wipe the floor with him any day. Sasuke hasn't even fully mastered his Sharingan yet. Not like Itachi." Tsuru finished.

Naruto looked at her questioningly, but before he could say anything, Sakura came out with Kakashi right behind her and with a final goodbye to her aunt, Tsuru set out with the Leaf ninja.

* * *

Back at Konoha

"What the heck is taking them so long?" Tsunade yelled.

Shizune winced. Tsunade was extremely upset that Team Kakashi had not yet returned. If they had simply gone to get the girl and come right back, they should've been back sometime this morning. The girl they were bringing back would be a vital addition to their ranks, and Tsunade was very anxious to have her arrive. "Perhaps they decided to stay the night at the village?" Shizune suggested.

"Why on earth would they do that? It's not that long of a journey, and they should've had the sense to return right away! That's what you do on retrieval missions; you go, get the package, and come back ASAP!" Tsunade punched her desk, and muttered, "Shit, I had gone two whole weeks without breaking one too. "

* * *

Kakashi and his group were making good time. They had left early in the morning, and he predicted they would arrive at the village shortly before dark. Looking up at the position of the sun, he calculated that they would be arriving home in a couple of hours. He turned back to make sure the others were close enough. Naruto was just behind him, and Sakura only a few yards further, but Tsuru was dropping further back the closer they got to the village. He stopped on the next branch and his team stopped immediately.

Sensing that something was wrong, Sakura looked around to see what the problem was. She didn't see any enemies or suspicious activity. But when her eyes fell on Tsureru, she knew what was up. A cloud of gloom surrounded Tsureru, and she was continually staring at her feet. Her hands were clenched tight, and Sakura could see a small trickle of blood dripping out of her fists. Sakura nimbly leapt to a branch closer to Tsureru, and said, "Here, let me see your hands."

Taking her trembling hands, she forced open Tsureru's fist, to see that she had clenched her fists so tightly that her palms had torn open. Naruto and Kakashi jumped over to see what had happened, and Naruto gasped at the sight of Tsuru's bloodied palm, torn and broken. Sakura was about to clean and bandage her, but Tsuru snatched her hands back and zoomed away with a rough snarl. "I don't want your pity," she yelled, as she raced into the forest.

Naruto and Sakura were about to follow her, but Kakashi stopped them. "You two head back to the village. Tell Tsunade that I'm on the way." And with that, he dashed off in the direction Tsuru had gone, leaving his two younger team mates to return.

Tsuru didn't know where she was going, but she only hoped she was going away from Konoha. She leapt from branch to branch nimbly, but because of the dimming light and the fact that she was so distraught by terror, anger, and overall angst, she couldn't concentrate and tripped off the limb. She hurtled towards the ground head first, and couldn't focus enough to slow her fall using chakra. She tried adjusting her positing so she would land headfirst, but before she could, something grabbed her ankle.

"A little girl like you should be more careful in the forest." Tsuru looked up to see Kakashi hanging upside down under a branch, holding her ankle and grinning from ear to ear. Well, she thought he was; she couldn't really tell with that mask in the way. "You never know when you might run into trouble." Kakashi hoisted her up so he could take her hand and swung her up to the topside of the branch. After making sure she wasn't going to fall again, he flipped up and sat on it as well.

"Why did you come after me?" Tsuru asked, devoid of emotion. She was sitting cross-legged, with her back against the trunk. Her hands were folded in her lap and she was staring at the section of branch directly in front of Kakashi.

"Because you are a fellow Konoha ninja, whether you want to be or not, and I cannot simply watch you run away from what you are," Kakashi said bluntly. "Whether or not you will be on my team, you are my ally, regardless of what you were before. This is your chance for a new future."

"I hate you."

Kakashi looked up, absolutely shocked. Tsuru had looked up from the branch and was now staring at Kakashi with such loathing and dislike, that he felt himself shrinking.

"I hate you, and all the Konoha ninja. I don't care what you think of me and what you think you can do to change me, I'll never become one of you." Tsuru stood up, trembling with rage, and was about to throw a shuriken at Kakashi, but before she could even blink, he had pinned her to the trunk with a kunai at her throat.

"Listen here, Kichigai," he said, with a deadly menace in his eye, "I never said I was particularly fond of you either, but I'm bringing you back. I said you were my ally, but not my friend. Will you ever earn forgiveness for attacking Konoha? Perhaps. Maybe I'll take into account the fact that you didn't know you were a Leaf ninja. Maybe I won't. But right now, I just want to complete my mission, and that was to bring you back with me. You said you would come with us, so either stick to it like an honorable shinobi, or I'll bring you back by force." When Tsuru gave a low growl, Kakashi pressed his knife against her neck harder, drawing a small amount of blood.

Tsuru muttered a low "honor schmoner, and where was my honorific," but willingly went with Kakashi to Konoha. The east gate was closest, and they reached it in a little less than an hour and headed straight for the Hokage's building. Upon entering Tsunade's office, they were assaulted by loud and deafening screaming.

"What took you guys so long?" Tsunade screamed. Shizune was quivering behind her desk, and Ton-ton was looking on with wary attention.

"We told her that we stayed the night at Jansei-san's house, but that just made Shishou angrier," Sakura said humbly. Kakashi looked at her and Naruto pityingly.

"Do you have to be so damn loud, woman? You're going to bust my eardrums." Tsuru said, rubbing the inside of her ear with her pinky. "Honestly, I get enough of that from Jansei-san."

Tsunade was about to turn on her but decided against it. "So, you're Ainako's daughter. You're the spitting image of her you know. Well, I guess we're glad to have you, and you'll be a valuable asset in the future, if we confront Orochimaru again."

"How do you know I worked with Orochimaru?" Tsuru asked suspiciously.

"You're parents kept in touch with your aunt while they were alive, and you're aunt kept in touch with the previous Hokage, and I found all the old files and letters regarding you. But that only had a general description that is far out of date by now, considering they're all at least twelve years old. Naruto and Sakura relayed the story you told them when they met you," Tsunade stated. "Don't be surprised if everyone hates you," she said, suddenly cold. "The wound Orochimaru's attack left on the village has not healed. We may have repaired the buildings, and the wounded have either healed or passed on, but the memory is still fresh."

"I wasn't expecting a warm welcome. You've already surpassed expectations with the fact that I'm not chained and shackled." Tsuru replied, just as coldly.

"Now, now," Kakashi interjected, "let's not get off on the wrong foot." _Too late,_ said Kakashi's inner voice. "Tsureru has been brought to Konoha, where she is now going to stay and be a member of society, correct, Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade continued glaring at Tsureru, but gave a curt nod. "Ok, now that we've got that established, where is she going to stay?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade shook herself, and after clearing her throat said, "As you have probably deduced already, Tsureru will be a member of your team. After all, since Sasuke left, you have been short one member. So it would make sense if she stayed with one of you. Sakura would be the most likely choice, because they are both girls, but I would not want to impose upon her parents. Sakura is already destructive enough, and from what I've heard, Tsureru-chan doesn't exactly have the most control over her temper. Naruto's flat, although it could comfortably accommodate two people, is a punishment I would never impose on anyone, as much as I want to. Kakashi, could you take her in?" Tsunade shifted her gaze to lay on the silver haired Jounin.

Kakashi was momentarily taken aback by this question. He balked at the idea of not only a student, but a former Sound ninja to sleep in the same apartment as him. "No," he said forcefully. Realizing that he was too sharp with his answer, he said again, a little more softly, "No, I don't really think I could accommodate her."

_Oh, sure, just reject me like that. Don't worry, it happens all the time _Tsureru thought. "Well, if I have no where to stay, I'll just go back to my aunt's house. Don't worry; I won't be scarred for life or anything from your rejection." Tsureru snorted and turned to leave when Tsunade suddenly appeared in front of her.

"You are staying here. We'll just have to set you up with a place of your own. There is a small bungalow on the edge of town that no one owns. You can stay there. The previous owner died during the attack, but I'm sure you won't let that bother you." Tsunade said. Turning to Shizune, she said, "Shizune, you know the place I'm talking about. Take the girl there and help her settle in. You can help her too," she added, glancing over Team Kakashi.

Putting down Ton-ton, Shizune led the four of them to the bungalow. It was actually in quite good condition. It boasted a garden, although it badly needed trimming. The inside was dusty, but the furniture was still in good condition. "I suggest cleaning out the bedroom first, followed by the bathroom and kitchen. There is a small sitting room to the right, and the backyard is in need of care. I hope you can stay here comfortably. I will go and get some groceries for you while you settle in. Is there anything you definitely want or don't want?" Shizune asked, politely but distantly.

Tsureru shook her head and Shizune took her leave. She walked through the small house, running her hands over the walls, painted a pastel yellow. This place was hers now. Hers and hers alone. Despite the fact that she would be forced to live in Konoha, the inside of her stomach churned in exited anticipation of having her own home. No, right now it was just a house. It would never be home. Tsureru didn't know where home was anymore.

"Tsuru-chan, are you ok?" Sakura asked quietly. Tsuru had suddenly stopped in her tracks and was staring ahead of herself, unmoving. "Why don't we start unpacking your stuff, so you can get settled in for the night?"

"Hum? Oh, yeah, I suppose we should." Tsuru said, pulled out of her meditation. "You know what; I'm not going to bother unpacking. I'll live out of my pack for a few days. I just want to get this place cleaned up." With that, the four of them, Tsureru, Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi, began cleaning up the house. At first, they did it mechanically, not really conversing much. But after a while, Naruto (of course) started some conversation, and Tsuru found that it was impossible to avoid, because ignoring him would get _really_ annoying after a while. So conversation flowed, which was motion instead of the awkward stalemate that had been going on earlier.

Once the majority of the dust and dirt had been cleaned up, Tsureru muttered a thank you and her team mates left. The last one left was Kakashi. He was absently looking around the ceiling, as if the flower shaped sponge marks held some hypnotic pattern.

"Um, Hatake-san?"

"What, oh, please, call me Kakashi-sensei?"

"Oh, ok then. Is there something you need, Kakashi-sensei?" Tsuru asked uneasily.

Kakashi gave a cough and said, "Ah, yes there is. I wanted to apologize for my rough behavior in bringing you back to the village. I don't like rough housing my allies, and certainly not harm them." He gave a quick bow and added again, "I'm sorry, Kichigai-chan."

Tsureru gave a short bark of laughter and sarcastically said, "Whatever. And call me Tsuru-chan." A small smile showed in Kakashi's visible eye and he turned and left Tsureru to her own works.

"Alright, then have a good night, Tsuru-chan."

Tsuru found herself staring at the door Kakashi closed behind him and suddenly shook herself. "No, what am I thinking? He's a Leaf ninja! I hate Leaf ninja!" _But why? "_I hate them because…" She paused in her conversation with herself. Why did she hate them? She supported Orochimaru, but he didn't really have any respect from her. She was vaguely loyal to him because he took her in, even if it was only for her power. She didn't think of herself as a Star ninja, certainly. But she had been a Sound ninja for so long that she found herself with a hatred for the Leaf burned into her. _Your parents were Leaf. You are Leaf. Even Jansei-san, she was a Leaf ninja before she was discharged. Your blood runs with fire. _"Fire…" Tsuru muttered.

Shizune came to drop off the groceries, but after that, Tsuru had no further interaction with the people around her. She locked herself in for the night and debated her loyalties long into the night.


	3. Exploring the City

The next day, Tsuru spent wandering around the village and getting to know the flow of things. She figured that if she was going to be living here, she had better know her way around. She definitely wasn't going to try and run away and fake her death, because she would be tracked down to easily. She knew at a young age, when she ran away from the Village Hidden in the Stars, that a ninja that leaves the village without permission would be classified as a missing-nin, regardless of age. As she walked down the busy boulevard, she gave a sigh of regret.

Suddenly, a weird white-haired old man comes up to her, puts his arm around her shoulder, and says, "Well now, what's a pretty little face like yours doing on this fine day looking so depressed?" Tsuru is so completely shocked that she stops in her tracks. Quickly regaining her composure, she grabs his wrist, twists it behind his back, and holds a kunai to his neck.

"Keep your filthy mitts off me, pervert," she says coldly.

"This is no way to treat the amazing Jiraiya! I am one of the legendary Sannin!" he whines, trying to wriggle out of Tsuru's hard-as-iron grip.

"Hah! All the more reasons to bring your ego down a notch or five," Tsureru said, grinning evilly. "There's no way a filthy old pervert like you could be on the same level as Orochimaru-sama." Passerby gasped when they heard Tsuru mention Orochimaru, and with such a respectful honorific too!

Jiraiya's face, although Tsuru couldn't see it, darkened with anger, both at being called a 'filthy old pervert' and at the respect Tsuru was giving Orochimaru. "What kind of Leaf ninja are you that you give such respect to that evil conniving snake and call me an old pervert!" Jiraiya suddenly jerked his head back, knocking Tsuru in the forehead and dazing her. He grabbed her hand that was holding the kunai and in the blink of an eye, reversed the situation. By now, a circle of spectators had formed.

Tsuru realized that she wouldn't be able to do the same thing he just did, firstly because he'd be on guard for that, and secondly because he was so much taller than her. She didn't care. She just goaded the situation farther. "Who said I was a Leaf ninja? Do you see a Leaf headband on me anywhere? No, I don't think you do." Tsuru's voice adopted a venomous growl, and she kicked Jiraiya in the groin, grabbed her kunai out of his hand as he fell to the ground, and spat on the ground at his feet. "No one calls me a Leaf ninja." And with that, she jumped away to the rooftops and looked for the highest point in the village.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Some of the spectators, after getting over the surprise at how Tsuru had treated Jiraiya, helped him up and he limped to the nearest bar. He winced as he sat down and groaned in pain. As he was sitting and drinking his sake, Naruto caught sight of him. "Hey there, Ero-sennin!"

"Oh, no, not you," he mumbled. "What do you want, boy?"

"Geez, I just thought I'd say hi." Naruto said. "What's got you so pissed off?"

"There was this chick. And I was only trying to be friendly. I thought she might want to help me research my next dramatic novel. But suddenly she's got a kunai against my throat and calls me an old pervert. Can you believe that?" Jiraiya asked, surprisingly sincere. Naruto chose not to answer. "Well, anyways," Jiraiya continued, "I turned the tables on her, because she says there's no way I'm at the same level of 'Orochimaru-sama' and kicks me in the balls!" Jiraiya winced at the still very fresh memory. "So then the girl runs off somewhere and now I'm trying to dull the pain with sake."

Naruto had a pretty good idea of who the girl was and gave a big grin. "Well, if anyone was going to put you in line, I would have figured it'd be her. And I guess I can't be surprised at her referring to Orochimaru as '-sama,'" he said. At Jiraiya's questioning glance, he said, "She used to be a high ranking official of his, and helped lead the attack against us." His grin faded to a frown and he added, "She may not be trustworthy, but she _has_ been away from him for a year."

Jiraiya snorted. "You wouldn't guess it by the way she acts. Orochimaru-sama my ass. He's not even worth an honorific." He drained his cup of sake, and still unsatisfied, took a big gulp from the bottle. Far more drunk now, he loosened up and said, "But I'm sure that chick would look fabulous in a bikini. I should try researching her again." And with that, Jiraiya stumbled away with a drunken swagger.

Naruto shook his head in disapproval, but left the Sannin to his own works. He thought about going to find Tsuru, but decided against it. If she had managed to temporarily cripple the Ero-sennin, he didn't really want to bother her. So Naruto went to the training grounds and trained the rest of the day.

* * *

Tsuru was starting to get a headache. Being in such a large hidden village, there were far more people around than she was accustomed to. Thus, there was more hustle and bustle than she was accustomed to. In her rooftop travels, she found a spot, high above the city on a sturdy antenna. Whoever was in the house below her would probably be getting a fuzzy signal, but Tsuru didn't realize or care. She lifted her face to the clouds and breathed in the fresh breeze. When she nearly lost her balance, though, Tsureru thought it would be a good idea to find a more stable spot. She soon found one. It was a small shaded roofed area on the roof of a building by a quiet park. She lay down on the roof and contemplated her situation.

"I wouldn't get to comfortable up there if I were you." Tsuru heard a voice coming from beneath her. Rolling onto her belly, she positioned herself so that she could look under the roof. Hanging in this precarious position, she saw a boy with rather long hair tied in a pony tail looking up at the clouds. "The tiles up there are a bit loose and you could fall," he stated.

"What the hell? God, people here are just so concerned aren't they," Tsuru said with scorn dripping from her voice. "I don't need your worry. I'm in a perfectly stable position."

The boy under her perch raised an eyebrow at her and said, "You're hanging upside-down on an old roof with loose, slippery tiles. Yes, that sounds very stable. Troublesome woman." He rolled his eyes at her and flopped back down on his back.

Tsureru frowned at the boy but didn't know what to say. He was obviously prejudiced about women. He wore a Chuunin vest, so he must have some talent and ability, even if he is just a Leaf. Chuunins and Jounins have the same style vest, but she assumed he was Chuunin. Still defying gravity, Tsuru said, "What's your name, asshole?"

"It's Shikamaru Nara."

"Shikamaru, huh? That's an interesting name." Tsuru decided that since he didn't seem to be making any particular disturbance or annoyance, she would leave him be. She had settled back into her position before she had been interrupted when Shikamaru spoke up again.

"I told you my name, now you tell me yours. I haven't seen your face around the village before."

Tsuru chuckled. "No, I suppose you wouldn't have. I'm Tsureru Kichigai. I'm sure you'll be hearing _all_ about me sooner or later." Tsuru waited for a moment to see if Shikamaru would ask anything else, but he didn't, so she settled back into her perch. _I'm meeting all sorts of weirdoes_ Tsuru thought with a grimace.

As she lay on the small roof, she reminisced about her days with Orochimaru. She had been a high ranking ninja, thanks to her superhuman chakra abilities. Much of her days there were spent training with Kabuto, but that was before Orochimaru's arms were stolen by the Third Hokage. It was thanks to Kabuto that she progressed to Chuunin level only a year or two after joining Orochimaru. Although he was only a Genin by official records, Kabuto's skill level was at least Jounin level. She progressed quickly under his instruction.

"Too bad all you're doing now is waiting on Orochimaru-sama hand and foot," she muttered, making sure that Shikamaru couldn't hear her. Tsureru gave a huff of frustration at being forced to live here. She didn't see why she had to come. She lived the majority of her life at a Sound ninja. Why couldn't she continue to live as one? _The binding seal Jansei put on you, remember?_ "Oh, that," Tsuru muttered. When her aunt, Jansei Ukimasu, originally intercepted her on a recon mission, she placed a binding seal on her. That seal was the reason Tsureru hadn't escaped back to Orochimaru. If she went more than three miles away from a set core, her heart would stop and she'd die. She wasn't able to undo the seal either because she had no idea what made up the seal, and even if she did, it was on her back. She wouldn't have been able to reach it and perform the unsealing motions.

Tsureru didn't have to worry about that anymore, since Jansei-san had lifted the seal the day before the Konoha ninja arrived. Now she was only held by the consequences of what would happen if she left. Tsuru rolled over and suddenly felt herself slipping. She had been using chakra to help her stick and her grip had loosened. She allowed herself to fall off and landed neatly on her feet. She dusted herself off and was about to walk away when Shikamaru stopped her.

"What are you connections with Orochimaru?" he asked. Tsuru turned around, wondering how he found out about her, and then nearly smacked herself upside the head when she realized she had said it out loud.

"Do you really want to know, Nara-kun?" Tsuru said teasingly.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know, now answer the question, woman."

"I worked for him if you must know. Now, I was just about to leave, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave." Tsuru stated, with her voice oozing sarcastic politeness. She walked down the flight of steps and could've sworn she heard Shikamaru say "I knew she was trouble," as she was walking down, but she didn't dwell on it.

Tsureru resumed walking along the streets of Konoha, but kept a watchful eye open for that pervert Jiraiya. She didn't need any more creepy old guys trying to hit on her. She shuddered in spite of herself and realized she was hungry, so she stopped by the nearest restaurant, which happened to be Ichiraku.

Tsureru sat down, ordered a bowl of beef ramen, and was happily enjoying her lunch when, of all people, Kakashi came and sat down next to her. Tsuru's grip on her chopsticks stiffened and she completely engrossed herself in eating her ramen. But alas, her efforts in ingnoring him failed; Kakashi kept up a stream of steady one-sided conversation, although he didn't order any ramen.

"What do you think of Konoha?" and "Ichiraku has some absolutely delicious ramen doesn't it?" and the classic, "Lovely weather we're having today, isn't it?" Tsuru merely gave noncommittal grunts or shrugs in attempts to be polite, but soon, she failed at even that.

Suddnely, she burst out and yelled, "God! What is it with all these people trying to talk to me in this place? I just wanted a day where I could wander in peace and I keep running into people!" Kakashi said nothing but she needed no prompting to begin over-dramatizing her morning experiences. "First, this freaky old guy tries to hit me, so I was going to teach him a lesson not to sneak up on people. Then, it turns out he's one of the Sannin, and turns the tables on me, and so I kick him in the crotch and go look for some peace and quiet. Then, I finally find some, and this Shikanaku guy is there and, well, he wasn't so bad. And now you come out of nowhere when I'm trying to eat my lunch and start quizzing me on all this stuff, the weather, Konoha, the ramen! Seriously, why can't people get that I just want them to leave me alone?" At the word 'alone' Tsuru pounded the counter, and sent a strong pulse of chakra through it, which wound up making her bowl of half-finished ramen crash to the floor.

Kakashi hummed in contemplation as he stared at the shattered bowl on the ground. Finally coming out of his mediation, he said, "Well, you seem to be having an eventful first day in Konoha. I see you've already met Jiraiya and Shikamaru today. How about I introduce you to some more of your fellow ninja?" Kakashi grabbed Tsuru's arm and tossed the money for Tsuru's meal and a replacement dish to the owner with an apologetic glance. Forcefully steering her to wherever they were going, Kakashi's face was perpetually amused.

"What the hell, man, where are you taking me?" Tsuru yelled. Kakashi only shook his head and gave her arm a little tug. Once they were out of the busier section of town, Kakashi's grip shifted from her forearm to her wrist. He wasn't pulling so forcefully anymore, either. Tsuru growled at the lack of information she was getting.

"Listen," Kakashi said, "I half lied when I said I was going to introduce you to more ninja. I need to see how well you work with the others on your team. You, Naruto and Sakura will be trying to get the bells from my belt. But the catch is that there are only two bells, so one of you will not get one. The one who doesn't get a bell-"

"Will be tied to a log and forced to watch others eat in front of him while they starve?" Tsuru interrupted. "You don't honestly think I don't know the point of that exercise? The Third Hokage used that on Orochimaru and his team members. You have to break the rules and work together because teamwork is more important than rules and regulations and all that crap." Tsureru whipped her arm out of Kakashi's grip. "I know how it works. And I think that looking after yourself comes before teamwork. I didn't ask to be a part of this."

"I don't want to have to put you at knife point again. I only did that because there was no other way to get you to go. Surely I can convince you without violence." Kakashi stated plainly. Tsureru rubbed her neck unconsciously as he mentioned knife point. The scratch had healed, but she still didn't like having things come close to her neck.

Tsureru backed away in a huff, and said, "Well, it's too bad, because that's the only way you're going to get me to agree, and I'll probably just escape once you let me go." She edged away from Kakashi, wary of turning her back to him. He made no threatening movements, but the distance between them didn't increase, because he followed her back towards the path, step for step. Apparently he grew tired of following her backwards, because in the span of a breath, she found herself against a tree again, but this time with her face scratching against the bark and her arms pinned to her back uncomfortably. Her legs were still free, so she attempted to kick him as she did to Jiraiya, but he used wire and lashed her legs to the tree trunk.

Kakashi found having to resort to binding Tsureru rather annoying, but because she refused to come along any other way, he had no choice. He was running low on wire, so Kakashi had to pin her arms himself, and so he whispered in her ear, "You're not at knife point, so I suppose you still aren't going to agree?" He chuckled and felt a ripple travel down Tsureru's spine under his hands.

Tsuru was blushing bright red. Kakashi had her totally at his mercy, and he wasn't even using a knife. All he did was pin her to a tree and tie her legs with wire. But as long as he held her arms tight as well, she had no chance of escape. His laughter made her body quiver. What the quiver was, she may never know, but she had a feeling it wasn't a good sign. "Of course I'm not going to agree!" she retorted. "I can still escape from this."

"Well, why aren't you escaping? It seems my new team member is all talk and no action. What a shame," Kakashi said. "We were going to be going on a mission to the Village of Sound." He felt Tsuru's body stiffen at the mention of the Sound. "You could've been a great help to us, but if you're not willing to do this, I suppose we can't let you come with us," he whispered in her ear. Tsuru struggled between the desire to go to the Sound Village and not wanting to do the bell exercise. Kakashi could distinctly smell the lingering scent of Tsuru's shampoo. It was mint and rosemary; clean and fresh. Suddenly, before Tsuru could come to an answer, a voice boomed out from behind them.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're such a pervert!" Kakashi immediately released Tsuru's arms and stepped away from her. Sakura and Naruto were approaching on the pathway. Kakashi had sent them to the training ground to wait for him, and apparently they had come to look for him because he was late. "Hah," Naruto said, "That's clearly guilty pervert behavior!" Naruto was referring to Kakashi's backing away. Suddenly he noticed Tsuru falling backwards because of her legs tied to the tree. He was about to catch her when she regained enough control of herself to land in a bridge position.

"Kakashi-sensei, I never knew you were into such thinks like bondage!" Sakura exclaimed. "What on earth is Jiraiya-san putting into your mind?" She snickered as Kakashi's eye was filled with shock. On the other hand, Tsuru was glaring daggers at all of them as she fished around in her pocket for a kunai to cut the wires on her legs. Sakura grinned in satisfaction and cut the wires for Tsuru and helped her to her feet.

"Let's get this damn bell thing over with." Tsuru muttered. "I'm _so _not in the mood to be harassed by any more people today." She glared at Kakashi as she walked past him. "I'm gonna get even with you. Just you watch." Tsuru arrogantly flipped her hair back over her shoulder and swept past him, allowing her anger to boil. She needed something to erase the lingering tingle of his muscular arms around her.

* * *

AN: AAHH!! My internet was down so I couldn't upload this as early as I wanted! Gomenasai!! I know it just kinda cuts off... I'm not really very good at proper closings. The next chapter will be all about the bell thingy. Alright? Cool, c ya next chapter! 


	4. Capture the Bell

Tsuru looked around the training ground. She could picture Orochimaru and his teammates participating in the bell activity before her eyes. Surely the Yondaime would have been a great mentor, even if he was a Leaf. Naruto and Sakura were reminiscing on their last bell trial. Naruto grinned as he remembered when he was tied to the log. _No way __I'm__ going to get tied this time, _he thought. Sakura suddenly became downcast and Naruto asked her what was wrong.

"Last time we did this, Sasuke-kun was still with us." She murmured. She no longer harbored feeling of love towards him, but merely as a lost friend. He had been a great team member, even if he was rather aloof.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan. We'll get him back and knock some sense into the thick skull of his," Naruto said with a grin. Sakura smiled and thanked him for his optimism. Kakashi called them into the middle of the meadow.

"Alright. All three of you know how this works," he said, holding up the two bells. "The goal is to get a bell. Whoever doesn't loses. And remember, you're going to have to come at me with the determination to kill; otherwise you've got no chance. The deadline is dawn. Begin on my count." Kakashi tucked the bells into his belt. "Oh, I'll need this," he said. He lifted up his forehead protector and revealed the Sharingan.

"So you really do have one," Tsuru murmured. She had heard about this. _I hope this doesn't cause any problems with my strategy… Just in case, I'll only do it if I really need to._ She tensed as Kakashi held up three fingers.

"Three… two-"

Suddenly, Naruto pulled out a giant shuriken and ran towards Kakashi. With lightning fast reflexes, Kakashi grabbed Naruto's wrist and twisted it so the shuriken was now pressing into the back of Naruto's neck. But just as he did that, another Naruto revealed himself behind Kakashi and held a kunai to his back.

"Very good Naruto. But you're still too hasty. I didn't finish counting. Three… two… one!" and Kakashi's clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto and his clone stood, bewildered, and Sakura and Tsuru immediately went back to back and scanned the area for him.

"He's not above," Sakura muttered.

"Not behind," Tsuru replied.

"Left, right?" Sakura didn't see him. "That only leaves below!" she yelled. Tsuru jumped up and Sakura pounded the ground, causing the earth to buckle and break. Kakashi's shocked form appeared as the dust and debris settled.

Tsuru gaped open mouthed as she crouched in midair. "Holy cow!" She exclaimed. "Nice shot, chick!" she yelled down to Sakura, giving her a thumbs up.

Sakura grinned. "Tsunade-shishou taught me more than med-jutsus after all."

Tsuru kicked off from her chakra platform and hurtled towards Kakashi. She threw two handfuls of shurikens at him, but he successfully blocked them. Now with a kunai in each hand and a chakra shield in position, she slashed and stabbed at him, aiming for various vital organs.

_She's__ really__going for the kill,_ Kakashi thought, slightly worried as he dodged and blocked Tsuru's slashes and cuts. Tsuru was moving with agility and speed, and easily backing him into the woods. The sun was setting now, and a golden light bathed the area. Soon visibility would be poor and they would have to rely on hearing and smell more than eyesight if they lost him.

As she swiped at Kakashi, Tsuru was building up a store of chakra. In a few moments, it would be ready and she'd catch him from behind while he was focused on her in front. Tsuru had driven Kakashi to the edge of the woods now, and she took quick note that Naruto and Sakura had already concealed themselves within. "It's ready!" Tsuru yelled out and was about to slice Kakashi open from behind using her chakra, sharpened to a razor's edge, but at the exact same moment, Sakura and Naruto jumped in and got in the way. "Damn you," she shouted, and jumped into the nearest tree. In her frustration at their interference, she sliced through the neighboring trees using the chakra she meant for Kakashi. Three of them fell with a loud crash, cut neatly through the middle, and two more had large gashes in the trunk not quite deep enough to fall them.

Shocked by the sudden crash, Sakura and Naruto paused in their fighting and Kakashi used a roundhouse kick to blow the wind out of them and throw them backwards. Sakura and Naruto slammed into the trunk of a tree that Tsuru felled, and gasped for breath. Using this lapse in the fighting, Kakashi slipped away into the growing darkness.

Tsuru jumped out of the tree and walked over to the winded ninjas. "He got you good, didn't he," she said with a smirk. She crouched down in front of them and did a quick examination. "You're going to have one helluva bruise tomorrow on your midsections but your organs are fine." Switching to a colder note, she said, "And next time, don't get in my way." With that, Tsuru darted through the trees after Kakashi.

A moment or two passed, and Sakura and Naruto regained their breath. They helped each other up and dusted themselves off. "What was that about?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know." Sakura replied. Looking at their surroundings, they finally noticed all the fallen and damaged trees. "Whoa, when did this happen?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Tsuru must've done it. It was the crash the distracted us." Naruto muttered darkly.

Sakura hummed in contemplation. "From the way the cuts are made, you can tell this is all from one swipe." She pointed at the trees and drew an arc in the air that followed the slash Tsuru made. "That's a bit of overkill." She glanced at Naruto and they were both thinking the same thing: Tsuru was following Kakashi's directions for killing intent, and if he didn't watch it, she really would.

They trotted off after Kakashi and Tsuru when they stopped in their tracks. Sasuke was standing before them, covered in blood and so many kunais and shurikens were sticking out of him he looked like a porcupine.

"Sakura, Naruto," he gasped, coughing up blood, "help me; I escaped from Orochimaru." He collapsed to his knees and held out a shaking hand towards the two of them.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, it'll take more than an illusion to make me faint this time." Sakura said. She easily dispelled the illusion and the mutilated Sasuke disappeared into thin air. Naruto whipped up a Rasengan and destroyed the tree Kakashi was hiding behind.

"Kakashi-sensei, we're not going to be falling for the same tricks as before." Sakura said.

Naruto nodded. "Hey, check it out, he dropped a bell!" He rushed forward and just as he was about to pick up the bell, a noose revealed itself and grabbed him by the ankle.

"Well, I guess Naruto falls for the-" POOF! Kakashi looked up to see that it had been a clone.

"Not a chance!" The real Naruto yelled out and jumped out of a bush and punched Kakashi in the face. But there was a puff of smoke and when it cleared, Naruto and Sakura were left facing a log.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Kakashi was hiding up in a tree. "I guess I really can't use the old techniques with them anymore." He felt something brush against his thigh and he turned around in surprise.

"You bet your ass you can't." Kakashi couldn't see anything in the darkness, but he could tell by the voice it was Tsuru speaking. Suddenly, as if a veil had lifted, there was Tsuru, not even six feet from him, holding both bells. Shocked, Kakashi looked down and put his hand to his belt, where the bell had been hanging from. Sure enough, there were gone. "You made that too easy. Getting sentimental in your old age, Copy Ninja?" She said sarcastically. "I suppose that since I was only supposed to get one bell I'll do this." Grabbing a kunai from her pocket, she stuck it into one of the bells and pried it open. She let the little clinger that was inside drop into her palm, and pressed the bell back into its original position. She tossed the bells back to Kakashi and said, "Make sure they know who got you first." And she dashed off.

Kakashi was stunned. How had Tsuru crept up on him like that? He must've been really distracted by Naruto and Sakura not to notice Tsuru take the bells from him. She couldn't have been more than a centimeter or two away from him when she did it and he didn't notice a thing! He shook himself mentally. He had to concentrate on Naruto and Sakura.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Tsuru had tree-leaped her way over to the edge of the training grounds when she ran into the Fifth and her assistant, Shizune. "Done already Tsureru? I doubt it." Tsunade said.

Tsuru snorted. "Puh-leez. Kakashi was so distracted by his sentimental attachment to his students he didn't even notice me take the bells. I got both of them away from him before he even noticed. And if I hadn't revealed myself he would have never known!" She held out her hand and showed Tsunade and Shizune the clinger from the inside of the bell. "I took one of them out and gave the bells back to him so Naruto and Sakura have something to work for."

Shizune gave Tsuru a strange look. "Why would you do that, Tsureru-chan? If you got the bell first, then you should've kept it. That's the whole point of the exercise."

Tsuru shook her head. "No, the exercise is really meant to get you to work together. I refused to, so I refuse to take the same prize them. They can work together and get the bells. I work on my own and get the clinger to show my completion. Because I have decided to work as a separate entity from the two of them, I got my prize as a separate entity." Tsuru finished. She was about to walk away when Tsunade stopped her.

"You might want to stick around and see what your teammates do. Even if being on a team with them doesn't interest you, the least you could do is watch them and determine their power compared to yours. And I happened to notice you tearing up those trees; I don't quite appreciate that, young lady." Tsureru snorted in response. "No, I'm serious, Tsuru-chan," Tsunade scolded, "you had better control that temper of yours. Otherwise I'm going to have your aunt come down here and place the binding seal on you again. If you can't control your emotions, you can't control your chakra, and destruction awaits down that road." Tsunade finished sagely. "That binding seal will not only limit your movement from Konoha, but limit your chakra too."

"Bogus, it doesn't do that, you old hag," Tsuru retorted. "It limits how far I can go from a set point. It can be an animate person or a place, but either way, it has no effect on my chakra."

Tsunade muttured a low, "Whatever, stupid child," and added in a clearer voice, "You really should watch Kakashi battle. It would be a very good idea."

Tsuru raised an eyebrow at the Hokage, but curiosity got the best of her and she headed over to where she heard the clamor of battle. Kakashi was standing in the middle of the meadow they had started in, and Sakura and Naruto were in front of him. He said something she couldn't hear to them, and began sealing so fast his hands were blurs.

With the wind, Tsuru heard Kakashi yell, "Fire Jutsu, Grand Fireball!" and a great ball of flame blossomed in front of him, and Naruto and Sakura only just jumped away in time. Tsuru was could feel the heat radiating from the flames, since she was downwind. "Wow," she muttured. That's a hell of a fireball." She recognized the jutsu as one of the moves Sasuke liked to use and figured that Kakashi learned it using his Sharingan. "That must be damn useful. I wonder how he got it. He's not an Uchiha…" Tsuru had let her eyes wander from the battle for a few seconds and when she looked back she nearly gasped at the sight of Naruto's head on the ground, without a body. But then the head poofed away, and she realized it must've been a clone. Suddenly, the real Naruto and Sakura came bounding out of bush towards him, and with just as much speed as before, Kakashi formed hand seals again and jumped onto the water. She heard him yell, "Water Jutsu Dragon Blast!" Greats streams of water rose from the river and the misty form of a dragon came into being. The water crashed down on Naruto and Sakura, washing them away.

After the last of the water drained away, Kakashi stood in the meadow. Tsuru could tell it had taken some effort to conjure up all those jutsus, but she could tell from his posture that he could still go on for hours. "Good thing too," she muttered, "there's still a while until dawn." Making sure to remain as silent as possible, Tsuru crept through the forest looking for Naruto and Sakura. She finally found them resting against a tree trunk.

"He's smarter than Shikamaru. He's got a better nose than Kiba. He's better at tai-jutsu than fuzzy-brows. And Kakashi's just a ton more experience than us." She heard Naruto say.

"But he's got to have some sort of weakness," Sakura replies. Silence falls over the pair of ninja as they thing about it. Naruto zones out and watches as an owl swoops down, about to catch a mouse. Suddenly, the lightbulb clicks.

"I've got it!" He said. "Kakashi's weakness!" Sakura is lost so he whispers it into her ear.

"Oh! Now that you mention it, it's so obvious!" The pair of them snicker like a couple of children plotting to play a prank on their teacher. She follows them as they head over to where Kakashi is. She tries to overhear their plan, but she could only catch snippets of conversation, because she had to stay quite a ways behind them. They finally reached the tree Kakashi was resting by. They whispered a few things, probably ironing out their plan. Then, to Tsuru's complete surprise, they attacked Kakashi from the front. "What are they thinking?" Tsuru said aloud.

At the same time Tsuru asked herself that, Sakura said, "Now Naruto!"

"Let's go Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said. "The final plot twist in the Make Out Tactics novel is that the main character-"

"Noo!" Kakashi yells. He covers his ears, and then closes his eyes.

_My god, spoilers?__ His weakness is freaking SPOILERS?!?! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?_ Tsuru thought to herself. _This place is getting crazier by the second_.

The jingle of a bell and Kakashi opened his eyes. Naruto and Sakura both had gotten a bell. "You always told us to look under the underneath, right Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said.

Kakashi laughed and said, "I guess you beat me too."

"Hah, that Kichigai-chan didn't get a bell. We proved her wrong, didn't we Sakura-chan? She didn't get one. In fact, I haven't seen her around here for a few hours. Did she give up or something?" Naruto said.

Kakashi remained silent, and Sakura said, "Good question Naruto." She rolled the bell around in her hands, when she realized it wasn't making any noise. "What the heck?" She exclaimed.

"I suppose you'd be wondering where this is," Tsuru said, jumping out of a nearby tree and holding out her hand with the clinker. She gave a crooked grin as Sakura looked back and forth from the clinker and Tsuru's palm to the bell in her own. "That's right, Sakura. I got it hours before either of you. In fact, I had gotten both of them, but I only took the clinker out of one so you'd still hear the bells."

Dumbfounded, Naruto and Sakura turned to Kakashi with questioning looks in their eyes. "Yes, she did," he replied. "It was just after you dispelled the Sasuke illusion and Naruto nearly punched me in the face, but I used the replacement jutsu." Kakashi gave a loud sigh. "I still don't know how the hell she did it."

Tsunade came out of the trees, followed by Shizune and Jiraiya.

"You again!" Tsureru yelled. "Damn pervert, what do I have to do to get rid of you!" She was about to charge at him, fists flying, when Kakashi pinned her again, this time to the ground. His left knee was on the bend of her knees, and his right foot was on her mid-back. At Kakashi's prompting, Naruto tied Tsuru's ankles together and her wrists behind her back.

"I really do tire of doing this constantly. I don't want to have to keep using up my twine on you." Kakashi stated.

"Lemme at him, you copy-cat!" Tsuru yelled, trying to wriggle free. "I'm gonna beat the crap out of that pervert and then pound you into a pulp!"

Jiraiya winced at the memory of what had happened to him earlier and said, "You just keep her tied up nice and tight, Kakashi." Naruto laughed, and being the only one who knew what happened earlier, he told the others about Tsuru's humorous meeting with Jiraiya earlier that day. When he finished, everyone was laughing, but also had no intention of letting Tsuru go.

"I think we'll let you stay that way the rest of the night." Tsunade said, as she crouched down to get to Tsuru's level. "It'll be good discipline and help you control your temper." She grinned and walked away, casually waving over her shoulder. Shizune followed, snickering the whole way.

"Bitch," Tsuru muttered into the dirt. _I can't wait to get bloody untied from this. I don't care if the entire village of Konoha is sent to track me down. I'm going to go back to Orochimaru. "_You can get off of me you know," she said to Kakashi after the Fifth walked away. Kakashi politely obliged and as soon as she felt the pressure on her back and knee joint lighten, she used her chakra to slice through the twine and wire. She immediately used a special original jutsu and used her chakra to bend the light around her so she became invisible. In the confusion that followed, she ran back to the village. She was going to pack her stuff and leave.

* * *

AN: Hello darlings readers! This chapter pretty much followed the couple of episodes that the bell thing was in (Shippuuden 3-4, btw) and I'm sorry if that annoys you. But since this actually happened in the manga/anime, I figured I might as well make it similar. Read and Review 


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